Coverage wrap up: Water deliveries slashed 85%; drought in 2009 could be the worst in California history, officials say

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 6:36 am

So many articles this morning across the state regarding the announcement of the initial 15% allocation from the State Water Project. Here’s what they have to say:

From the Los Angeles Times:

State water deliveries could be slashed next year if California continues its dry streak, a move that could lead to widespread rationing.

California Department of Water Resources officials Thursday said water agencies could get as little as 15% of their State Water Project allocations, although that figure could go up if Sierra Nevada rain and snowfall return to normal in the coming months. “We’re clearly making a major call for extra conservation, but also permanent conservation,” said water resources director Lester Snow, who renewed the Schwarzenegger administration’s call for the construction of new reservoirs.

Officials at Southern California’s major water supplier, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, say its board soon will discuss whether to initiate cutbacks. “We are preparing for the real possibility of water shortages and rationing,” said Jeff Kightlinger, the MWD’s general manager.

From the North County Times:

The situation is made worse for Southern California by the rapidly falling level of Diamond Valley Lake in Southwest Riverside County, the region’s primary insurance policy against drought. As a result, Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District, said there is a “very real possibility” that the ongoing voluntary call to residents in Southern California counties —- including San Diego and Riverside —- to conserve voluntarily will be replaced by a mandatory cutback by May.

“We are one step away,” said Maureen Stapleton, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, which buys water from Metropolitan and distributes it to area cities and water districts. And, Stapleton said, “If there is not a drop of rain and a flake of snow between now and mid-January, I can see earlier action being necessary.”

The [San Diego County] water authority and local providers plan to follow Metropolitan’s lead.

From the Long Beach Press Telegram:

Low water storage levels in the state’s major reservoirs, ongoing drought conditions, a growing population and court-ordered restrictions on water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta all are to blame for the water shortage, Snow said. Last year, a federal judge limited the amount of water that can be released from the Northern California delta in order to protect the endangered smelt fish.

Without the delta restrictions, the water allocation would have been about 20 percent, Snow said. He said California needs above-average precipitation over the winter to adequately replenish the state’s reservoirs, many of which are below half or a third full. His department’s recommendation is to “hope for the best and prepare for the worst,” he said. “We’re clearly making a major call for extra conservation,” Snow said.

From the Daily Breeze:

The announcement of the allocation comes a month earlier than normal to give local water agencies additional time to develop plans. Most have anticipated tighter water supplies and have taken steps to try to reduce water use.

The Metropolitan Water District, which delivers supplies to 26 member agencies, gets its water from the State Water Project and the Colorado River. General Manager Jeff Kightlinger said there is the possibility of rationing throughout the region, with the first discussions to take place in November.

“It still sends a solemn message up and down California - we all must immediately reduce water use to stretch available supplies,” Kightlinger said. “Over the past two years, Metropolitan has depleted more than a third of its water reserves to deal with drought and court-ordered cutbacks. This is not a short-term problem that will be washed away with a few good storms.”

Richard Nagel, general manager of West Basin Municipal Water District, said Thursday’s announcement was mostly anticipated but underscores the need for people to conserve. West Basin provides water to most of the South Bay and gets roughly two-thirds of its supplies from the Metropolitan Water District.

West Basin will continue promoting conservation as the allocation figure is re-evaluated this year and next, Nagel said. A final figure is anticipated in April. “Each month they come up with an allocation figure. It could be the same, or it could increase, depending on the snowpack (conditions),” Nagel said. “We’re at 15 percent … we need to get to 50 percent or higher to be in the clear.”

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Water supplies for agencies such as the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and East Bay Municipal Utility District that don’t rely on the state for water won’t be affected the state allocation.

The five Bay Area agencies that receive water from the state are the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Solano County Water Agency, Alameda County Water District, Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Zone 7 and Santa Clara Valley Water District.

The agencies said that while the low allocation is discouraging, they already had made contingency plans this summer. “We actually thought the state would come in at 10 percent,” said Paul Piraino, general manager of Alameda County Water District, which provides water to Fremont, Newark and Union City.

Earlier this year, the district decided to augment its groundwater reserves by moving 10,000 acre-feet of water from its underground reserves in Kern County and an additional 12,000 acre-feet from the San Luis Reservoir. “It’s sort of like putting some money in the bank early … for the not-so-rainy day,” Piraino said.

From the Sacramento Bee:

Sacramentans are not directly affected by the forecast, because they don’t depend on the State Water Project for deliveries. The forecast primarily affects water users in the Bay Area and Southern California.

Yet Sacramento should take heed, because it also depends on the parched Sierra Nevada for most of its water supply. Snowmelt stored in California reservoirs is at its lowest level in 14 years.

“In fact, the entire state is wrestling with very serious drought conditions,” said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. “Wherever you live in California, start conserving water because you are going to be affected if drought conditions persist.”

From Stockton’s Record:

Farmers in the Central Valley said they will be forced to fallow fields, while cities from the Bay Area to San Diego might have to impose mandatory rationing. Mike Young, a fourth-generation farmer in Kern County, called the water projections disastrous. “For the amount of acres we’ve got, we’re not going to have enough water to farm,” he said.

and

Stockton-area water officials repeatedly have said over the summer that this area has enough water to get by, but that the coming winter will be critical for next year. San Joaquin County as a whole has had difficulty finding new sources of water, and the groundwater on which the area has heavily relied is dropping.

From the Bakersfield Californian:

Kern County Water Agency general manager Jim Beck said between the smelt and explosive Central Valley population growth, there is far more demand for water today than during the last major drought of 1988 to 1992.

That means farmers are going to have to add to the 20,000 acres left fallow this year for lack of water. Beck estimates 90,000 acres in Kern County will be affected next year, including 50,000 not planted at all, and 40,000 acres of permanent crops watered enough to stay alive but not enough to bear fruit.

Groundwater banking has helped ease the water shortage up to now, but because of the Delta issue, “We won’t have opportunities to replenish those supplies for use in future droughts,” Beck said.

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

The state has released an initial allocation projection lower than 15 percent only once, in 1993. However, that 10 percent forecast jumped to a full 100 percent of supply requests thanks to a bountiful winter. But the overall water picture is even more bleak today than it was in 1993. Reservoirs are half-full. Court-ordered protections to save the rare delta smelt in the Sacramento delta will divert as much as 660,000 acre-feet of water, enough for 1.3 million households a year. And climatic changes threaten to further reduce snowpack.

Last year started out promising, but finished with the driest March-through-May ever recorded. The previous year also produced skimpy amounts of snow. “We have the potential in a third year to have the worst drought in California history,” warned Lester Snow, director of the Department of Water Resources.

Snow said it is clear that the state needs more storage and a canal to carry water through the Sacramento delta, which could minimize threats to fish. “The clock is ticking,” he said.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Drought, Weather & Snowpack, Water Supply

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DWR weather & climate news: Rain yes, snow no, and still in a drought, 2nd lowest initial allocation; climate change in California & more

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 5:58 am

From the Department of Water Resources, it’s weather and climate news!

Yes, it will rain on and off the next few days. No, we won’t pull out of the drought.

First off, the weather situation is clouding over. Literally, not figuratively. A long jet stream stretched well across the Pacific taps tropical moisture through the weekend, by way of an offshore deep trof off the west coast. It won’t rain the whole time, and hopefully there’ll be a break timed for Trick or Treat. But expect wet weather for the northern and central parts of the Golden State in the days ahead.

Timing and amounts:
This afternoon and tonight, rain showers will occur over the northern half of the state, under a southerly flow. Tonight/ Friday’s wave tapers in the late afternoon/ early evening in the valley and coast, but still could be a little soggy for foothill locations on Halloween night. Of the 2 or 3 waves, the Saturday/Saturday night system will be the heaviest. South / southwesterly winds will enhance orographic forcing (more lift, more rain) on south facing slopes. These are warm RAIN systems, with snow levels quite high; 7,500′ to 11,000′, across the state, generally speaking. Total northern Sierra (and some north coastal) precip totals will climb to 5-6″ through the weekend. By Sunday morning, the system spreads rain along the central coast, as far south as about Santa Barbara. Big Sur burn areas may see a total of 2-3″ of rainfall by the end of this weekend. (More on burn areas in a moment).

This set up does have some tropical moisture in it, and has connections that suggest the onset of what would be a welcome wet pattern. No one wants it to go overboard, but perhaps the MJO, Madden-Julian Oscillation, will produce many of these types of storms in the months ahead. Of course, that’s not a forecast, it’s a wish. Without a strong La Nina or El Nino in place over the tropical Pacific (what’s known colloquially as La Nada), warm, moist storms have a better chance of making it to the west coast this winter. When combined with a cool Pacific Decadal phase (cool temperatures in the Northern Pacific), there are some scientific reasons to be optimistic about the winter. Nonetheless, these patterns can break down, or modify. So the most we can say is that maybe we’ll make a good start to the fall. Additionally, kudos to the forecast brains of the National Weather Service for calling this pattern ahead of time, for a November shift to wet.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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ACWA: Near record-low water allocation paints grim picture for 2009

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 5:47 am

From Marketwire, this press release from ACWA:

Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) Executive Director Timothy Quinn issued the following statement today on the initial 2009 water supply allocations announced by the Department of Water Resources. The department has notified State Water Project contractors that they may receive just 15% of requested deliveries next year — the second lowest initial allocation in the project’s history. SWP contractors deliver water to 25 million Californians and more than 750,000 acres of farmland.

“This extremely low allocation leaves little doubt that we are in critical territory going into 2009. While the State Water Project service area will clearly see major impacts as a result of this allocation, the drought will continue to have a grip on the entire state. And it is likely to get worse before it gets better.

“All Californians have to take this seriously. Though many of the drought actions have been voluntary to this point, we see a trend toward more restrictive kinds of actions. Tight controls on outdoor water use will be the norm, and many Californians will see drought surcharges and higher water rates to encourage conservation.

“Even if it rains tomorrow or we end up with a wet year, we can’t assume these problems will go away. It’s a new day in California water as we deal with both drought and court-ordered restrictions on water deliveries. We have to invest in making our system — and particularly the Delta — more sustainable so we can meet the needs of species and the environment and still have a reliable water supply.”

ACWA is partnering with the Department of Water Resources to coordinate drought assistance and public education efforts. More on ACWA’s efforts and drought response measures is available at http://www.acwa.com/issues/drought2008/water_supply_conditions.asp.

ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 450 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Water Supply

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Grim water supply forecast for 2009 reinforces need for new water delivery system, says the State Water Contractors

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 5:38 am

From Market Watch, this press release from the State Water Contractors:

The bleak water supply forecast for 2009 reinforces the pressing need to build a new water delivery system that will protect the environment and provide a reliable water supply for Californians. Water agencies receiving water from the State Water Project (SWP), one of the state’s primary water delivery systems, may only get 15 percent of their contract water supplies in 2009, according to early forecasts released today by the California Department of Water Resources.

In light of the low predictions, the State Water Contractors also warned today that residents, businesses and farms throughout the state will see significant new restrictions on water use in 2009.
“Even if we have a wet fall and winter, the water won’t necessarily be available to us because deliveries are also being cut to protect fish in the Delta. We are anticipating drastically reduced water supplies, regardless of weather conditions,” said Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors. “The fragility of the Delta ecosystem, combined with the drought we are currently experiencing, makes it imperative for California to agree on a comprehensive, long-term Delta fix. We can’t make it rain, but we can make the system work better to ensure a reliable water supply for Californians and protect the environment.” added Moon.

This exceptionally low forecast is due to restrictions placed on water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) to protect endangered fish species, and severely dry conditions in California throughout 2008 that are expected to continue into 2009. A ten percent projected statewide allocation for the SWP is the lowest in California history.

This comes at a time when California is already reeling from ongoing hits to the state’s water supply and delivery system. Having been allocated only 35 percent of their contracted water supplies in 2008, state water managers have been facing significantly reduced water deliveries for nearly a year.

Dry conditions have been so bad that Governor Schwarzenegger has formally declared California to be in a state of drought and collectively, reservoirs throughout the state are at the lowest levels in 14 years. San Luis Reservoir, one of the state’s largest reservoirs, is able to hold 2,039,000 acre-feet of water but today only holds a little more than 230,000 acre-feet — a dismal 11 percent of capacity. In addition to drought, instability within the Delta has significantly impacted the reliability of our water supply. Water exports were slashed in 2008 to protect fish species and by mid-2008, 660,000 acre-feet of water had been cut - enough to serve 5.3 million Californians for one year.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Water Supply

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Farmers don’t want to take it anymore

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 5:32 am

From the Capital Ag Press:

The year: 1976. In the blockbuster movie “Network” the television anchor man played by Peter Finch encouraged people all over the country to go to their open windows and yell: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.”

The year: 2008. Several California farmers, most of them in the Central Valley, are lining up at their open windows and clearing their throats.

In the movie the fed-up and frustrated citizens were beset by over-regulation and government meddling in every aspect of their lives. For Central Valley farmers the issue is the same, most of it revolving around water or the lack of it.

A recent decision by the judiciary and by federal agencies has rankled many farmers even though those representing them have managed to put a happy face on it of farmer acceptance and resignation. That image has been accepted by the media, but more intense emotions are roiling beneath the surface.

A militant group called Families Protecting the Valley is dedicated to raising awareness of Central Valley issues as related to farming and external forces that compete for the water farmers traditionally have used for irrigating their crops.

Read more from the Capital Ag Press by clicking here.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture

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Imperial Group thwarted by ruling; “asks IID to partner with the Imperial Group to seize state funding for the Salton Sea restoration”

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 5:29 am

From the Imperial Valley Press:

A judge struck down the Imperial Group’s latest move in its lawsuit against the Imperial Irrigation District because it violated court procedure, IID attorney Jeff Garber said. “It was inconsistent with (the judge’s) orders,” Garber said of the group’s complaint.

A formal order will be released in about a week with the judge’s decision, but Garber said he made his intentions clear in a hearing Thursday.

This case has been dragging on for years - the Imperial Group first sued IID in 2004. In an interesting twist, apparently the Imperial Group wants to seize state funding for the Salton Sea restoration (is that even possible?) Check it out:

Meanwhile, as the court case inches along, the Imperial Group has sent a letter to Garber requesting IID recognize “common ground” it shares with the Imperial Group. The letter states IID has made public statements indicating it supports state funding for Salton Sea restoration and straight-line allocation for water rationing, two positions the letter says the Imperial Group agrees with.

The letter then asks IID to partner with the Imperial Group to seize state funding for the Salton Sea restoration. For the water allocation, the letter asks IID “authorize the technical people on all sides to a free exchange of information so that real-world solutions can be found.” It goes on to state the Imperial Group is not interested in an agreement that provides litigation relief, only one that resolves “real-world issues.”

Garber said the letter serves no legal purpose, and further, he does not see the point in IID partnering with a group that is suing it.

“It is impossible to comprehend the meaning of all of (Imperial Group attorney) Mr. (Patrick) Maloney’s comments in this letter,” Garber said. “Of course, IID strongly desires that the state fulfill its obligation to restore the Salton Sea. However, Mr. Maloney’s suggestion that IID partner with his clients, who are now suing IID, to seize state assets is pretty bizarre.”

More from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under Imperial Irrigation District & Imperial Valley, Salton Sea

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Odds and ends: bloggers react to water allocation, but forget about Oregon says the USGS, some eco innovations, why isn’t groundwater in CA regulated, and more!

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 5:25 am

My cup simply runneth over with interesting odds and ends today….

Housing meets its ultimate adversary - water, says the Westchester Parents blog, who points out that this is a disaster that city leaders themselves have created: Our city leaders need to now come to grips with the problem and recognize that their policies have contributed significantly to the problem. Regardless of desktop projections that the city will need ten’s of thousands of new housing units, the reality is that there are not enough water resources to fulfill that fantasy. Ignoring the practical limits of supply, cities have built-out so significantly that they have finally reached the point where consumption exceeds supplies. It’s a fantasy, he says, that we can build enough homes to accommodate the expected increase in population forecasted for Southern California. From the Westchester Parents blog - click here.

Meanwhile, Spreck Rosekranz of the Environmental Defense Fund says the allocation figure released by DWR is meaningless, as it will be revised later anyway after we see what precipitation actually occurs. So why are they really doing it? The reason for issuing a forecast earlier than ever before appears to be that it is simply one more opportunity to advocate for new dams and a peripheral canal. Lester Snow, DWR’s Director of the Department of Water Resources is clear on that point, stating that the initial allocation “… further dramatizes the urgent need for additional investments in water storage and conveyance infrastructure to assure an adequate and reliable water supply…”. From Spreck Rosekranz of the Environmental Defense Fund’s On the Waterfront blog - click here.

Don’t look north to that groundwater in Oregon, says the USGS, as it’s already spoken for: Water Wired has a response from the USGS taking an issue with the recent article in the Oregonian that implied that there was a vast, unused amount of groundwater that could be available for use or for export: the concept of a “secret stockpile” of water that “someone, someday may want to use” is not only incorrect, but troubling because it implies that ground water in the Cascade Range is not already being used. In reality, ground water from the Cascades supplies much of the flow to major streams on both sides of the range, and, consequently, is already being relied upon by communities, irrigators, and important aquatic ecosystems. More from the USGS via the Water Wired blog by clicking here.

Water your lawn With your *ahem* waste? No, I’m not talking about a “Women & Sitters Only” policy for your bathroom: Biokube, a Danish company, is bringing the BioKube Venus to America. The Venus is a septic tank advanced enough that it can make your waste water clean enough for use in agriculture (i.e. watering your lanw.) The device would produce more than the 15,000 gallons used by most households. The excess would just be released into groundwater like current septic systems. But, I suppose you’d want to limit the amount of frolicking in the sprinklers your kids were doing. The product will debut right here in California. More from the Eco-Geek blog by clicking here.

First solar thermal plant in 20 years launches in Bakersfield: Only serving 3500 homes homes right now, this plant could serve as a gateway to a much larger plant in the future. Here’s how it works: Unlike solar photovoltaic systems that convert sunlight into electricity, this plant will focus sunlight on tubes that contains water. The light heats the water, creating steam, thus turning turbines. This is important because steam storage will allow the plant to run after sunset. From the Clean Technica blog - click here.

GOAT blog asks why California does not regulate groundwater (only CA & TX don’t, by the way) and says “the environmental establishment has become much too cozy with the purveyors of environmental destruction”. Why? … in the wine country north of San Francisco stream flow is decreasing at an alarming rate. Groundwater pumping is implicated along with illegal surface diversions and the rapidly expanding wine industry is known to be the main culprit. Yet the environmental and fishing group Trout Unlimited recently accepted over a million dollars in state funding to “form partnerships” with the wine industry. Trout Unlimited is unlikely to support limits on groundwater pumping which would surely be seen as a threat to its new wine industry partners. Also, the blog discusses how irrigators and some farmers in the Klamath region have been selling groundwater at unsustainble rates. Check it out from High Country News’ GOAT blog by clicking here.

San Francisco’s Proposition R to rename the sewage plant in honor of George Bush just oozes respect, says the Golden Gate Xpress: “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it,” he [the chairman of the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco] wrote in his proponent’s argument. “President Bush has left us with a gigantic mess, and this facility symbolizes the city’s deft ability to clean up its share of the financial and diplomatic mess left in the administration’s wake…we think President Bush deserves immediate recognition for his eight years of public service.” Before you dismiss it as silly, the Xpress wants you to remember the wooden dummy named Brendan O’Smarty. From the Golden Gate Xpress - click here.

For all of you storm water and urban runoff people, bookmark this new blog from the Los Angeles Stormwater Quality Partnership: Stormwater Trends.

Pictures, pictures, pictures! Here’s a great article about Mono Lake, the most unique & bizarre lakes from around the world - and there’s a lot of them, Imperial Valley officials and their secret twins, and a the BBC has a slideshow of Prix Pictet winners featuring amatuer & professional photos of water.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under Odds and Ends

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Major sewage spill forces closures along Laguna coast

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 5:19 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

In what is being described by Orange County health officials as the worst raw sewage spill in at least nine years, more than 500,000 gallons of effluent spewed into the street and the ocean Wednesday morning in Laguna Beach, prompting the closure of four miles of coastal waters.

Waters roughly two miles north and south of the spill, from Crescent Bay to Camel Point, near Aliso Beach, will remain closed for at least two days, authorities said.

“People can still use the beach and the sand; only the ocean is closed,” said Deanne Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Health Care Agency, which monitors ocean water quality.

Several streets were closed while repairs were made, and the city announced they would be hiring an independent firm to determine what went wrong.

Laguna Beach has spent more than $10 million on sewer system upgrades in recent years to prevent ruptures to its aging infrastructure, City Manager Ken Frank said. “We have one of the oldest sewer systems in the county,” Frank said. “We have a whole lineup of repairs, including a major renovation of this particular pump station. We just didn’t get there in time.”

The health care agency is testing water at 14 locations, and coastal waters will remained closed until bacteria counts return to acceptable levels.

Read more from the LA Times by clicking here.

Beaches will remain closed until at least this afternoon, according to this update story from the LA Times:

Four miles of fouled Orange County coastline will remain closed to swimmers through at least this afternoon after 580,000 gallons of raw sewage gushed from a Laguna Beach pump station early Wednesday, health officials said.

Beaches from Crescent Bay to Camel Point, two miles north and south of the spill, were contaminated with waste. The first results from 15 to 20 water samples taken Wednesday showed evidence of fecal contamination along the shore near Bluebird Canyon Drive, said Larry Honeybourne, program manager with the environmental division of the Orange County Health Care Agency. “We need a couple days’ worth of clean samples before we can open the locations,” Honeybourne said.

If bacteria levels remain unsafe, ocean water could remain off-limits through Saturday or later, he said.

More from the LA Times by clicking here.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under Other Oceans & Beaches Stories

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Coastal water monitoring could get state funding fix

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 31, 2008 at 5:05 am

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

Beaches in San Diego and the rest of California are likely to once again get regular pollution checkups, thanks to a plan for reviving a coastal water monitoring program slashed last month.

On Tuesday, the State Water Resources Control Board will consider a temporary fix by spending up to $1.97 million from a 2000 ballot measure designed partly to improve beach water quality. The money would fund the statewide program for two years.

If the financing is approved, health officials in San Diego County expect to receive $302,000 for the 2008-09 fiscal year – enough to restore their water-testing program to where it was before the budget cut.

“With any luck, we will be back in business,” said Mark McPherson, chief of water quality for the county’s Department of Environmental Health.

Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here.

October 31, 2008 · Filed Under Other Oceans & Beaches Stories

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California cuts water deliveries to cities, farms

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 3:32 pm

From the Associated Press and the San Diego Union Tribune:

The state said Thursday it would cut water deliveries to their second lowest level ever, prompting warnings of water rationing for cities and less planting by farmers.

The Department of Water Resources announced it will deliver just 15 percent of the amount that local water agencies throughout California request every year. That marks the second lowest projection since the first State Water Project deliveries were made in 1962.

It could force farmers in the Central Valley to fallow fields and cities from the San Francisco Bay area to San Diego to impose mandatory water rationing.

The state’s reservoirs are low after two years of dry weather and court-ordered restrictions on water pumping out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This year, water agencies received just 35 percent of the water they requested.

Read more from the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Water Supply

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Metropolitan Water District General Manager’s statement on initial State Water Project allocation for 2009

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 3:22 pm

From Business Wire:

Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, issues the following statement regarding the California Department of Water Resource’s initial 15 percent allocation of State Water Project supplies to Metropolitan for the 2009 water year:

“We are preparing for the very real possibility of water shortages and rationing throughout the region in 2009. Over the past two years, Metropolitan has depleted more than a third of its water reserves to deal with drought and court-ordered water cutbacks from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. These reserves are rapidly reaching a level that demands careful management.

“While this low initial State Water Project allocation was anticipated, it still sends a solemn message up and down California—we all must immediately reduce water use to stretch available supplies.

“Metropolitan cannot expect any short-term relief from its supply situation if it begins to rain in the Southland, in Northern California or in the Colorado River watershed. The Delta’s serious environmental problems are driving court decisions and regulatory actions that are drastically limiting the ability to move water across the estuary. This is not a short-term problem that will be washed away with a few good storms.

“Throughout its 80-year history, Metropolitan has dependably met the region’s imported water needs. It has been a remarkable era of water stability, thanks to astute decisions that expanded our storage facilities, enhanced conservation and increased local supplies such as recycling. But now we are facing a continuing historic dry cycle and unprecedented environmental challenges in the Delta.

“For many months, Metropolitan has closely monitored weather conditions and water storage levels. If the region faces a shortage in 2009, the district has in place an allocation formula that seeks to equitably distribute supplies, while preserving emergency reserves. Conservation is an absolute necessity. Using less and being more efficient is the new water reality in Southern California.”

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving nearly 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Metropolitan Water District, Water Supply

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Long Beach Water Department: State officials project 85% cut to requested state water deliveries in 2009; The initial allocation is second lowest in the history of the State Water Project

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 3:21 pm

From the Long Beach Water Department, this press release:

Today, the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners are again urging area water suppliers to immediately implement mandatory prohibitions on certain outdoor uses of water, following a dramatic announcement by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) that imported water deliveries to the San Francisco Bay area, the Central Valley and to southern California are initially projected to only be 15 percent of normal. The State’s announcement, which comes each year around the end of November, comes early this year to encourage local water suppliers throughout the state to prepare for what is expected to be another dry year.

The State Water Project delivers water to more than 25 million California residents and more than 750,000 acres of farmland. This year, water contractors requested 4,166,376 million acre-feet of water for the 2009 calendar year, the maximum contractual amount allowed. The actual water deliveries can increase from the initial allocation depending on the year’s hydrologic and water supply conditions. The lowest initial allocation was 10 percent of contractors’ requested amount in 1993, but the number was increased to 100 percent of the requested amount as favorable weather conditions developed. Last year however, the initial figure was 25 percent and it was only increased to 35 percent.

Jeff Kightlinger, General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the agency that supplies Long Beach with half its water supply, said his agency is preparing for the very real possibility of shortages and rationing throughout the region next year. “Over the past two years, Metropolitan has depleted more than a third of its water reserves to deal with drought and court-ordered water cutbacks from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. These reserves are rapidly reaching a level that demands careful management.” Kightliner also stated that his agency can’t count on relief from the situation if it rains here, in northern California or in the Colorado River watershed. “The Delta’s serious environmental problems are driving court decisions and regulatory actions that are drastically limiting the ability to move water across the estuary. This is not a short-term problem that will be washed away with a few good storms.”

Kevin Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department, goes further, stating that the State of California, and water supply leaders like the Metropolitan Water District, must do all they can to move communities throughout the State, particularly here in southern California, into mandating strict water conservation requirements, most importantly the prohibition of egregious outdoor watering activities that have been common place in neighborhoods all across southern California. “We need to collectively engineer a major lifestyle change in the way we think about and use water, so that inefficient and wasteful uses, which go on each and every day in our communities, are no longer tolerated. Postponing action is a gamble that we cannot afford to make as a region, considering the consequences that we’ll face short of an above average rain year. We are at a point where southern California simply does not have enough water to meet our demand for it going forward, even in normal hydrologic years.”

In September 2007, the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners officially declared that a water supply shortage for southern California, including Long Beach, was imminent, triggering implementation of the Commission’s Emergency Water Supply Shortage Plan. Activation of that plan put in place several strict prohibitions on certain outdoor uses of water, making those particular uses illegal activities in the City of Long Beach. Long Beach water demand for Fiscal Year 2008 set a new, record 10-year low. That announcement, made earlier this month, means that less water was consumed in Long Beach this past fiscal year, than any other year over the past decade. In fact, Long Beach consumed less water this past fiscal year than the city did during the height of the 1987-1992 drought, with mandatory rationing and a population 15 percent smaller than today. September 2008 was the City’s 9th record setting month (all 10-year lows) for low water use since the Board of Water Commissioner’s water shortage declaration.

John Allen, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners, cites marked human behavior and attitude change as the reason for the city’s record setting year. “This is an entire community coming together and engaging itself in a worthy endeavor. We need other southern California communities to get going, which will be the only way any successful region wide effort is going to be sustained.”

The Long Beach Water Department is an urban, southern California, retail water supply agency and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Long Beach Water Department, Water Supply

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Santa Barbara County’s water supplies in good shape despite drought

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 3:20 pm

From the Santa Ynez Valley Journal:

Santa Barbara County isn’t yet facing a local emergency regarding drought conditions, and local reservoirs are far fuller than its state-controlled counterparts. That was the consensus presented to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Oct. 21, which heard a report on planning for drought due to statewide conditions.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought in June due to low rainfall, reduced snow pack and diminished run-off forecasts.

Currently, Cachuma Lake is at 91 percent capacity and the Gibraltar reservoir is 70 percent full, said Matt Naftaly, water agency manager. In contrast, three vital state reservoirs, Oroville, Shasta and Folsom, all have capacities hovering around the 30 percent mark.

Read more from the Santa Ynez Journal by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Southern California

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Pavement that’s porous gains ground

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 3:15 pm

A shout out to the Sisweb for this one! From The Boston Globe:

Joni Mitchell vilified builders in her 1970s hit song, “Big Yellow Taxi,” knocking them for paving paradise to put up parking lots. The asphalt going in at 585 Middlesex St. in Lowell probably wouldn’t have changed the singer-songwriter’s message, but it might have given her pause with the lyrics.

The parking lot at the new headquarters of Nobis Engineering Inc. is being installed with an environmentally friendly asphalt called porous pavement. By letting rainwater seep through to filtration beds, porous pavement is correcting a pollution problem called road runoff, which is of particular concern in the densely populated, heavily traveled Merrimack Valley.

“More and more every day, porous pavement is proving itself to be an environmentally sound method of putting down paving material,” said Scott Colby, environmental and estates manager for Saugus-based Aggregate Industries Inc., the paving company doing the work for Nobis. “Using porous pavement, you can recharge ground water much better, and in the winter it doesn’t freeze up like regular pavement does. The material works quite well.”

Read more from the Boston Globe by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Great Green Ideas

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DWR Releases Initial State Water Project Allocation

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 10:01 am

From the Department of Water Resources, this press release:

Sacramento -The Department of Water Resources (DWR) today announced an initial allocation of 15 percent for water delivery to the State Water Project (SWP) contractors in 2009.

“This further dramatizes the urgent need for additional investments in water storage and conveyance infrastructure to assure an adequate and reliable water supply,” said DWR Director Lester Snow. “The uncertainly of precipitation patterns due to global warming and deteriorating conditions in the Delta, California’s main water hub, demand immediate action to enhance our ecosystem and keep our economy productive in the 21st century. The Governor has sounded the wakeup call, and the clock is ticking.”

The allocation is the second lowest in the history of the SWP. It reflects the low carryover storage levels in the state’s major reservoirs, ongoing drought conditions and court ordered restrictions on water deliveries from the Delta.

The lowest initial allocation figure was 10 percent of SWP Contractors’ requests in 1993, but that number was increased to 100 percent during the water year as conditions developed. Last year, the initial figure was 25 percent and it was increased to 35 percent.

DWR has historically made this important announcement at the end of November, complying with the long-term water supply contracts requiring a
Dec. 1 announcement. Today’s announcement comes slightly earlier to help local water agencies better prepare for 2009, which is expected to be another dry year. The announcement is part of the department’s effort to implement Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Drought Executive Order (S-06-08) directing DWR to help local water districts and agencies proactively address these conditions.

SWP contractors deliver water to more than 25 million California residents and more than 750,000 acres of farmland. This year, SWP contractors requested 4,166,376 million acre-feet of water for the 2009 calendar year, the maximum contractual amount allowed. Actual delivery amounts can increase from the initial allocation depending on the year’s hydrologic and water supply conditions.

In preparing the initial allocation, DWR considered a conservative projection of hydrology; SWP operational constraints including additional 2009 Delta export restrictions per the federal district court’s remedy order to protect Delta Smelt; and 2009 contractor demands, including carryover water from 2008.

A notice to SWP contractors appears on DWR’s State Water Project Analysis Office Web site at: http://www.swpao.water.ca.gov/notices/

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project

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There’s nothing peripheral about state’s continuing water wars, says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 6:28 am

From Stockton’s Record, this editorial:

A panel appointed by the governor has recommended a peripheral canal and shooting water through the Delta as possible ways to solve the state’s water woes.

Critics of the peripheral canal - and there are many, especially on this end of the state - dismiss the validity of the recommendation, saying it was preordained.

The chairman of the group, Phil Isenberg, a former assemblyman and before that mayor of Sacramento, called the group’s 20 months of work “arduous.” But in the end, the work resulted in a unanimous 6-0 vote supporting the recommendations.

Perhaps nowhere else in the nation is the old saw attributed to Mark Twain, “Whiskey’s for drinking and water’s for fighting over,” truer. Californians have been fighting over water - who gets it, how much, where it goes and, most importantly, who controls it - for decades.

No matter how arduous the study and how sincere the suggestions, the state’s water war will not end. And it’s a war that has a distinct north state/south state flavor.

Read more of this editorial from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Peripheral Canal

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Urgent efforts a race against time; Freezing smelt DNA, tweaking genetics explored

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 6:22 am

From Stockton’s Record:

Delta smelt may be threatened, but thousands of the little guys swim circles in dark tanks near the pumps that ship water to Southern California. Can these fish, bred mostly for research, be bolstered in number and someday released to the wild?

A report issued last week says this strategy should be considered, along with possibly freezing and preserving smelt DNA or tweaking the fish’s genetics to make it more adaptable to the Delta’s rapidly changing environment.

Some kind of solution is urgent. Not only are smelt a bellwether for the health of the Delta overall, but the well-being of the fish is directly tied to how much water farmers and cities south of the Delta receive. The fish are imperiled by many factors, including the pumps, exotic clams that eat their food and toxins in the water.

Some biologists are skeptical that a refuge population or other far-reaching plans would be successful. “Those are all acts of desperation,” said Peter Moyle, a fisheries biologist at the University of California, Davis, “There’s no substitute for fixing the environment” in which the fish live.

Read more from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Delta smelt, Other Delta Issues

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Study finds silver lining for maligned saltcedars; UA research shows that the non-native “invader” isn’t as bad as as first thought

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 6:18 am

From the University of Arizona:

There is nothing neutral about saltcedar. Imported to America’s East Coast from Eurasia as a nursery plant in the early 1800s, the hardy shrub’s popularity grew beyond ornamental purposes in the early 1900s, when thousands were planted out West to stabilize irrigation canals and control erosion along elevated Southern Pacific rail lines. Satisfaction turned to alarm when the eight imported species of saltcedar, also called tamarisk, escaped cultivation and spread too fast.

Dense thickets of the drought-and salt-tolerant species Tamarix ramossisima today cover vast tracts of the West and Southwest, especially in riparian areas once filled with native willows and cottonwoods. Blamed for guzzling too much water, out-competing native plants and destroying wildlife habitats, saltcedar has been the focus of 25 years of aggressive abatement efforts. To many, the only way to control it is to kill and remove it.

“The longstanding idea is that getting rid of saltcedar would improve the ecology and save water,” said Ed Glenn, a senior research scientist in the Environmental Research Laboratory, part of The University of Arizona’s department of soil, water and environmental science. Yet eradication measures are costly, time-consuming and labor intensive and may not, as new research shows, be entirely necessary.

Glenn and a team of scientists from the UA, the U.S. Geological Survey and other institutions have spent 10 years comparing saltcedar and native plant water use, and assessing riparian zone ecology along the Lower Colorado River, which stretches from the Grand Canyon to the delta in Mexico. Those studies have yielded surprising results.

“What we’ve found using remote sensors calibrated with ground measurements is that saltcedar only uses three feet of water per year, which is less than your backyard lawn, and even less than the native trees,” Glenn said. “In comparison, farmers apply seven to nine feet to their alfalfa fields, of which the plants use about six feet, and the rest is lost to runoff or deep infiltration.”

Read more from the University of Arizona by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Invasive Species

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Global warming: Good news for California’s coast? Temperature change affects everyone, and it is just beginning

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 6:16 am

From the Ventura County Reporter Online:

Two weeks ago in Southern California, Santa Ana winds threatened to drive two fires in Simi Valley — the Porter Ranch and the Sesnon Fire — on a path through the sun-baked hills towards the ocean. But instead of building in strength and destructiveness, as the winds often have in the past, the Santa Anas died down after a couple of days, much to the relief of firefighters and homeowners in the area.

Could this diminution of wind be traced to global warming?

Climatologists analyze massive sets of data gathered over decades of observation, so a trend cannot cause a single weather event, in much the same way that medical researchers can document the risk of smoking, but doctors cannot link a patient’s lung cancer to a single cigarette. But climatologists are developing a new understanding of the factors that drive the Santa Anas, and with that new understanding come some unexpected benefits.

A team of researchers at UCLA is reporting evidence that global warming has already brought down the risk of the most powerful of Santa Ana winds, which are perhaps the most dangerous annual natural event in Southern California.

And there are other elements of global warming that may actually benefit Ventura County and the California coast, although experts warn that the larger effects of global warming will likely overwhelm whatever good news it might have for a particular area. And what about water supply?

…the prospects for drought in the Southwestern region are alarming — not for one reason, but for many different reasons.

For one, most Californians depend on water from the snowpack that builds up in the winter in the Sierra Nevada and melts over the course of the spring and summer. Many climatological studies have shown that as the planet warms, that snow will melt faster. Worse, increasing amounts of precipitation in the mountains will likely fall as rain, or as rain on snow. This could lead to flooding in the spring, and water shortages in the long California summers and falls.

Separately, climatologists have found a long-term trend toward the cool dry La Niña pattern that tends to make for drought. Even more troubling, scientists who study climates of the past have found strong evidence of what they call “megadroughts”— droughts lasting as long as 150 years, also linked to La Niña.

Read this interesting and comprehensive article from the Ventura County Reporter Online by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Climate change & water supply

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Water supply falling short; rationing may be necessary

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 6:00 am

From Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:

Inland water agencies could get only 15 percent of the supplies they requested from the State Water Project next year — one of the lowest anticipated deliveries since 1993 — possibly spurring mandatory rationing in some areas, officials said Wednesday.

The state Department of Water Resources is scheduled to announce the estimated allocation of water from Northern California today. But a state expert confirmed it will be 15 percent, and local authorities said that was consistent with what they were told to prepare for.

“We’re anticipating getting a low allocation, possibly a record low,” said Bob Muir, spokesman for Metropolitan Water District, a wholesaler for 18 million customers in the Inland area and other parts of Southern California.

The Department of Water Resources supplies Metropolitan and 28 other agencies.

The announcement follows two dry years and court-ordered reductions in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pumping that cut the amount delivered to suppliers by two-thirds, said Ted Thomas, department spokesman.

The 2008 water year, which ended Sept. 30, was deemed critically dry, with statewide runoff from snowpack at 57 percent of normal. Instead of the normal two-thirds full, the state’s major reservoirs are at about one-third of capacity.

Read more from the Press Enterprise by clicking here.

The Department of Water Resources is expected to release it’s allocation figures today for the upcoming water year - I’ll post it as soon as it is available.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under DWR & State Water Project, Water Supply

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Flushed: Commentary makes the case for “Indirect Potable Reuse” in San Diego

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 5:44 am

From the Voice of San Diego:

No one is arguing that we can conserve our way out of the water crisis — although that is where we must start. But if we move to the next tier, what does that look like? Call it water reuse, recycling, indirect potable reuse (IPR), reservoir augmentation, even the rather simplistic but catchy toilet-to-tap.

However you label it, the concept is simple: treating sewage to a level that’s cleaner than our current drinking supplies, using the same technology as desalination plus a few steps to make the result even more pure. There has been a huge outpouring of support for taking water out of the ocean and treating it to a level suitable for drinking. But that’s exactly where our slightly treated sewage is currently being disposed of — in the ocean. And make no mistake; our sewage is not treated to federal standards before disposal.

Read more of this opinion piece from the Voice of San Diego by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Recycled Water, San Diego

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Inyo County Supes wade through Standing Committee agenda items in preparation for next meeting with DWP

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 5:41 am

From the Inyo Register:

Despite scheduling conflicts with leaders in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power that boiled the blood of at least one county supervisor, county staff will meet with LADWP officials in November to discuss some of the priority issues surrounding water in the Owens Valley.

The Inyo County Board of Supervisors last Tuesday reviewed and ultimately approved the Inyo County/Los Angeles Standing Committee agenda for 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6 at the Bishop Elks Lodge.
Before the board could address the agenda, however, it had to discuss scheduling conflicts for the meeting.
….
With the time, date and location of the meeting set, the board went to work reviewing the agenda, which includes discussions and action pertaining to a Memorandum of Understanding between L.A. and Inyo County in regards to the Standing Committee’s duties, a discussion and progress report regarding Green Book revisions, a status report on the Lower Owens River Project and a discussion regarding the Owens Lake groundwater evaluation.

Read more from the Inyo Register by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Owens Valley & Mono Lake

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Rubber dam a concrete remedy? Inflatable device could increase drinking-water supply

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 5:35 am

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

The daunting challenge of finding more drinking water for the region while protecting the environment could rest on the air-filled back of an unusual device being considered in North County.

The giant, industrial-rubber bladder, technically called a weir, would direct flows toward a lake and an aquifer at Camp Pendleton, building up enough “new” water to serve the equivalent of at least 11,000 families and reducing demand on other drought-stressed waterways.

“For every acre-foot that we can produce locally, that is an acre-foot of imported water that is available to somebody else in the county,” said Keith Lewinger, general manager of the Fallbrook Public Utility District.

The Bureau of Reclamation worked with the Fallbrook district and Camp Pendleton to develop the strategy during the past five years. The project is designed to resolve legal disputes between the Fallbrook district and Camp Pendleton by increasing the water supply in the region by roughly 5,500 acre-feet in average years and twice that in wet years. An acre-foot is enough to serve two typical families for a year.

The base would get 60 percent to 70 percent of the water, and Fallbrook would get the rest.

Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Water Supply

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As drought continues, saving water is essential, says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 5:31 am

From MyDesert.com, this editorial:

The drought situation is not good. Deeper cuts in the statewide water allotment could prove to be, as one official describes it, “Draconian.” Those state water deliveries include the Coachella Valley.

A third consecutive dry year could mean that delivery of water to the valley will be at its lowest levels since 1993. It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize that less water and more growth does will not provide a harmonious balance.

But we can do something about it. First off, we shouldn’t panic. Yes, the facts are the facts. Last year, the state delivered 60 percent of California’s water allotments. This year it was down to 35 percent, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a drought.

Next year, deeper cuts could hover at less than 20 percent of the water needed for Californians. While it is a significant decrease, it’s not yet a fact. We still have time to change our ways and develop new habits.

Read more from MyDesert.com by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Conservation

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Floating to save the L.A. River: Army Corps biologist facing possible dismissal defends her actions

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 5:28 am

From the Los Angeles Times, a commentary by Heather Wylie, the Army Corps biologist who took part in a kayak trip down the LA River to protest possible revisions in the Clean Water Act and to prove the river is “navigable in fact”. She defends her actions and explains why she felt compelled to participate:

A kayak trip I took this summer may cost me my job. I am a civilian biologist working for the Army Corps of Engineers. On my personal time, I joined a trip down the Los Angeles River to protest actions by my own agency to undermine the Clean Water Act.

My superiors scoured the Internet for proof and found two photos of me on a blog. Claiming that my “participation undermined [its] authority,” the corps has proposed suspending me for 30 days, a punishment one step below termination. More than two months after advocating this penalty, it has yet to make a decision.

In July, a dozen kayakers took a three-day journey down the 52-mile L.A. River; I joined them for 20 miles. The purpose of our regatta was to show that the entire river is “navigable-in-fact” — a classification that is crucial to preventing the rollback of Clean Water Act protections throughout the watershed — and to highlight similar threats facing waterways across the nation.

More than 30 years after its enactment, the Clean Water Act is now in legal turmoil. A 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Rapanos vs. United States, first muddied the waters. The court held that to continue to regulate pollution under the Clean Water Act, the government has to prove there is a “significant nexus” between the wetlands in question and “navigable-in-fact” waters.

The term “navigable-in-fact” comes from 140 years’ worth of court rulings. Waterways that have or can generate interstate or foreign commerce through boating (including seasonal, hazardous or solely recreational use) are navigable-in-fact and thus subject to the provisions of the Clean Water Act. So our kayak trip was meant to underscore that the L.A. River — and all the streams that feed into it — deserve protection under that law.

Read more of this commentary in the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Los Angeles River, Water Quality

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Sacramento Delta levees get FEMA scrutiny

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 5:22 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is again zeroing in on Sacramento Delta levees, seeking assurances from owners of about 85 miles of barriers that they will withstand a 100-year flood.

The effort, under way in counties throughout the region, stems from a 2005 policy requiring that local jurisdictions nationally verify that their levees can hold back a flood having a 1 percent chance of striking in a given year.

Throughout Sacramento County, about a dozen reclamation districts, the city of Elk Grove and owners of other publicly owned levees have until late January 2009 to vouch that they can give FEMA proof that their levees will withstand such flooding. If the districts agree to go through the process, they’ll have another 20 months or so to provide documentation.

Districts that can’t document their levees’ integrity will be drawn into a FEMA flood hazard zone, requiring residents with federally backed loans to buy flood insurance and that any new construction be as much as 16 feet above ground. Business owners would face similar requirements.

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Levees, Other Delta Issues

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Placer water heading south to Westlands Water District to ease shortage

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 5:17 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

The Placer County Water Agency recently sold up to 20,000 acre-feet of water to a water district serving Fresno and Kings County farmland.

The water will be moved to the Westlands Water District through the Bureau of Reclamation canal system to the San Luis Reservoir, where it could be used immediately or stored for later use, according to the California Farm Bureau Federation.

The transfer is scheduled for November and December, and is the latest indicator of water shortages throughout the state, a farm bureau e-newsletter states.

The Placer County water agency’s Board of Directors also recently approved increasing water rates for cities and local water companies it supplies, and will consider similar increases for the agency’s ratepayers during the board’s November meeting.

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Water Transfers

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Lafayette looks to well water to irrigate city park & sports fields

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 5:14 am

From the San Jose Mercury News:

In Lafayette, “Drill, baby, drill” is all about water. The City Council voted this week to explore drilling a well in Community Park to irrigate the park’s sports fields — and possibly other city landscaping.

In recent years the city had made an effort to cut water use. Then this summer, the East Bay Municipal Utility District announced across-the-board use-reduction targets, enforceable regardless of whether residents or cities had already made efforts to conserve.

The city has cut usage by linking its sprinklers to a weather station, according to Public Works Director Ron Lefler, though it likely won’t meet the 30 percent target set by the utility district.

But to be prepared should the drought persist, the city is looking at attaining a bit more water independence. “Given the continuing population growth in California and the East Bay, and given the changes that climate change might bring about, it makes sense for us to at least explore this option,” City Manager Steven Falk said.

Well drillers have told the city there is a “high probability” of a successful well in Community Park, according to a city staff report. Next, contractors will do a ground-imaging survey and drill a test well if the survey shows underground water.

Read more from the San Jose Mercury News by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Bay Area

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Pipe-clogging mussels arrive in Arizona’s water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 30, 2008 at 5:06 am

From the Arizona Republic:

The discovery of quagga mussels in a water-diversion channel east of Mesa raises the risk that the invasive mollusk could use the Valley’s network of canals to spread farther into Arizona and possibly damage water-treatment plants. The canals supply water for most Valley communities, at least two power plants, more than a dozen urban lakes and thousands of customers of farm and residential irrigation.

Salt River Project workers found 11 quagga mussels earlier this month and four more Wednesday on monitoring lines near Granite Reef Dam, where water is diverted into the canals.

Just one female quagga can produce 40,000 eggs in a breeding cycle and up to 1 million eggs in a year. The thumbnail-size mussels pose no health risk to drinking water, but they can clog pipes, jam mechanical equipment, increase maintenance costs on water-distribution systems and alter riparian ecosystems.

How many mussels have made their way into the diversion channel or downstream is unknown, but finding even a few on a monitoring block is significant. The four found Wednesday had attached themselves since the block was last checked about two weeks ago.

“It means they are able to settle in our canals,” said Lesly Swanson, an environmental scientist for SRP. “We knew they had been coming in from the (Central Arizona Project Canal) for a while. It’s really a question of why we haven’t found them sooner.”

More from the Arizona Republic by clicking here.

October 30, 2008 · Filed Under Invasive Species

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DWR releases climate change white paper

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 29, 2008 at 3:20 pm

From the Department of Water Resources, this press release:

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) today released a report urging California’s water managers to develop climate adaptation strategies.

The report, Managing an Uncertain Future: Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for California’s Water, details how climate change is already affecting the state’s water supplies and sets forth a number of recommendations to help avoid or reduce climate change impacts to water resources.

Disturbing trends over the last half century suggest California faces a shrinking snowmelt, increased flooding, longer droughts and a rise in sea level.

The report proposes ten adaptation strategies in four categories. Chief among those recommendations is that California must develop a sustained investment strategy to reliably finance the state’s water future. The report also suggests that regional and local entities implement a diverse portfolio of water management techniques to better address uncertainties of changing water patterns. This management approach, known as Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM), is already in place throughout the state and a key part of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s vision for California’s water future. IRWM will become the core strategy in water planning to adapt to the challenges posed by climate change.

The report strongly suggests that statewide water management systems also adapt as the climate changes. Strategies include coordination of land use, watersheds, reservoirs, floodplains and aquifers to protect public safety, preserve water quality and supply and provide for the ecosystem. California must expand research of climate change and its impact on water and the environment as well.

DWR’s report is the latest in the administration’s efforts to address climate change and will feed into the state’s overall climate adaptation strategy. The report follows on the heels of the Air Resources Board’s Proposed Scoping Plan, which contains water efficiency and conservation measures and is designed to mitigate climate change impacts by reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020.

To view the full text of Managing an Uncertain Future; Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for California’s Water, visit http://www.water.ca.gov/climatechange/articles.cfm

The public will have the opportunity to discuss the report in detail at the Climate Change Adaptation Summit hosted by DWR and the Water Education Foundation Nov. 13-14 in Long Beach. To learn more about the summit or to register, visit http://www.watereducation.org/doc.asp?id=852&parentID=849.

October 29, 2008 · Filed Under Climate change & water supply, Events

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Climate change and the future of Yolo County agriculture

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 29, 2008 at 3:13 pm

From the Woodland Daily Democrat:

How will climate change affect Yolo County’s agriculture? There is much in the news these days about the potential effects of higher temperatures, rising sea level, and drought in the Western United States, but translating these global trends into local projections for agriculture is not an easy task.

During the past few months, a group of UC Davis faculty has worked with Yolo County administrators and agencies to understand the agricultural options and complexities in dealing with climate change over the next 50 years. The project was supported by the California Energy Commission and the UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute.

It is generally recognized that much of the climate change that will occur during the next two to three decades is based on greenhouse gasses that have already been emitted by human activities such as use of fossil fuels and fertilizers.

But society’s actions now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will have a big impact on future climate beyond that period. For this reason, scientists are less confident of the kind of impacts beyond 2050.

The UC Davis report, soon to be released by the CEC, is neither a handbook, nor a set of predictions, but instead considers planning issues at both the farm and landscape levels. Several types of methods were used to assemble information relevant to Yolo County’s agriculture, e.g., literature reviews, models, landscape analysis, interviews with agency personnel, and a survey of farmers.

Read more from the Woodland Daily Democrat by clicking here.

October 29, 2008 · Filed Under Agriculture, Climate change & water supply

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Big changes coming real soon to Aquafornia!

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 29, 2008 at 7:42 am

In the next day or two, I’m going to have big website news of which I am very excited and most proud to tell you about! Check it out - even the cat is excited!

There are fantastic plans afoot to make Aquafornia the #1 website for California water news and information. Aquafornia is going to get a little bit bigger and a whole lot better…

… but I can’t tell you all about it just yet.

So watch this space for some BIG news! And watch your RSS Readers, as sometimes changes can affect RSS feeds, although we’re trying to avoid that.

Remember, all the day’s water news is posted by 8 am, and I post every day of the week, so if there’s nothing on your RSS Reader, you may need to reestablish the feed…..

October 29, 2008 · Filed Under Website News

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‘09 may deliver deeper water cuts: Coachella Valley braces for possibility of third straight year of drought for California

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 29, 2008 at 7:30 am

From MyDesert.com:

As the Western drought continues, California is preparing to make deep cuts next year to the amount of water it provides to the Coachella Valley and other communities statewide.

The state Department of Water Resources is preparing to announce preliminary water allotments for 2009 that will be “most likely less than 20percent of what our customers have requested,” spokesman Ted Thomas said. That’s the lowest preliminary projection since 10 percent delivery was predicted in 1993.

The state delivered 60 percent of water allotments last year, and was slated to deliver 35 percent this year. “We’re in a second consecutive dry year,” Thomas said. “There’s concern we could have a third consecutive dry year, which could really be Draconian.”

More from MyDesert.com by clicking here.

October 29, 2008 · Filed Under Coachella Valley, DWR & State Water Project, Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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Wetland restoration in Dutch Slough will be first in Delta history

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 29, 2008 at 6:43 am

From the San Jose Mercury News:

The first wetlands restoration project in the Delta promises to turn Dutch Slough into a learning laboratory that will provide scientists and the public a glimpse into the region’s early ecology.

After years of planning, environmental documents for the project will be released in November and the initial funding has been secured. The 1,166-acre former cattle grazing and dairy operations in Oakley will be transformed into habitats for freshwater tidal marsh and sand dunes.

“We have specifically designed the restoration project to teach us more about the role of tidal marshes in the ecology of the Delta,” Natural Heritage Institute restoration ecologist John Cain said. “We don’t have significant natural tidal marsh in the Delta today to adequately measure how native fish use tidal marsh.”

The $30 million project should receive the bulk of its funding from Proposition 84, a safe drinking water and water quality act passed in 2006. It will be constructed in phases, with completion expected around 2012. The construction process will include bringing in fill material, contouring the site, and breaching the levee.

The environmental report will cover how the plans will affect air quality, noise, dust, water quality, aesthetics and endangered species. The project’s main goals are to create habitats for species and improve the ecosystem there.

“It is not an experiment because we have a high level of confidence that it would result in a lot of benefits for the Delta,” Cain said.

More from the San Jose Mercury News by clicking here.

October 29, 2008 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues

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San Diego: No more desal on tap

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 29, 2008 at 6:37 am

From the Voice of San Diego:

When Mayor Jerry Sanders talks about San Diego’s water-supply future, he occasionally drops in a plug for desalination. But Sanders, who has endorsed the proposed seawater desalination plant in Carlsbad, hasn’t been referencing that effort. He’s talked — only generally, so far — about the possibility of San Diego turning to de-salted seawater as a new drinking water supply for the city.

In a recent interview, Sanders said the city would be “somewhat excited about another desal plant.” He’s also tossed it out as a potential alternative to a contentious City Council effort to recycle sewage as a drinking water source.

The concept has also popped up on the campaign trail. District 7 council candidates Marti Emerald and April Boling both endorsed the technology during a Tuesday debate on KPBS. “We ought to think about desal up and down the California coast,” Emerald said.

But if the Carlsbad plant, which has cleared permitting hurdles, manages to similarly overcome environmental groups’ legal challenges, the city of San Diego does not appear likely to follow suit any time soon — despite Sanders’ references. Nor do many other local water agencies.

Read more from the Voice of San Diego by clicking here.

October 29, 2008 · Filed Under Desalination

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